Christmas Miracles (17 page)

As Susan was putting on her robe, she heard Gus once again humming “Silent Night” over Gretchen's cradle. She was just leaving the room when the bed lamp went out.

Susan called for Gus to turn the light back on, but he didn't answer. She fumbled for the light switch for the ceiling light, found it at last, and turned it on.

Gus was gone.

Susan never saw him again.

On the same night that his image had stood over their infant daughter's cradle, singing a Christmas hymn, he had broken through the ice in a faraway Canadian lake. Gus Klemp's body was never recovered, but his spirit had come home to say farewell and to share a Christmas miracle with his wife and baby daughter.

D
aniel Gomez felt his heart sink to his knees. How could this have happened again, and so close to Christmas? For the third time in six years, he was laid off his job, only this time it looked like the company was going to be permanently out of business.

Each time before, he and several other employees were promised an increase in pay and benefits as soon as the company could reorganize and restructure things. Although it often took longer than expected, each time they called Daniel back to work, his boss reassured him that the problems were being worked out. Since the commitments of a slight increase in salary and a few extra “perks” had been honored, Daniel had no reason to doubt the current solidity of his employer. Things had been going very well for the last several years, with no hint of the impending calamity, when this, the final notification—the dreaded pink slip—came. The timing couldn't have been worse. His wife, Sarah, was pregnant with their third child, and not in good health. For several weeks, she had been experiencing tightness in her chest and was having a difficult time breathing, but she insisted she was probably just suffering from allergies or a winter cold that would soon pass. She refused to go to the doctor, not wanting to add any more bills to their already overstretched budget. With two other children, one seven years old and one four, there never seemed to be an extra dollar left after their monthly expenses were met. But now, when Daniel arrived home, he knew there was no choice but to take Sarah to the doctor—no matter how much she protested.

The second he kissed Sarah hello, Daniel knew that she had a fever and had taken a turn for the worse. There was now an audible wheezing in her chest, so without saying another word, he went to the phone, called the doctor, rounded up seven-year-old Katie and little Jonathan, then returned to the bedroom with a pile of winter snowsuits, coats, hats, boots, and mittens, which he dumped on the floor. As he started to sort out whose coat belonged to whom—he announced to his wife that Dr. Zachariah was waiting for her and he wouldn't take no for an answer. He decided it best not to mention anything about their current employment status, fearing the stress of the news would further aggravate her condition.

It took every ounce of energy Daniel could muster up from deep within him to entertain the children with a positive spirit and remain hopeful while their mama was in the examination room with the doctor. Unfortunately, little Jonathan brought up Santa Claus and what he wanted for Christmas, which was now only three and a half weeks away. Daniel suddenly felt a growing tightness in his own chest as the mere mention of Santa reminded him that he was without a job, so there might not be a Santa this year. Then, as he glanced up, he noticed the doctor approaching with a not-so-pleasant look on his face. Noticing the presence of the children, Dr. Zachariah turned to the reception desk and requested several lollipops and some assistance to watch over the kids while he talked with Mr. Gomez.

“How is she, Doctor . . . do you know anything yet?” Daniel blurted out.

Sensing Daniel's anxiety, Dr. Zachariah tried to tone down the seriousness of Sarah's condition, yet emphasize the importance of medical attention. “Your wife told me you have been trying to get her to come in for the last several weeks, and that she refused, thinking she would be fine. But,” he continued, “I can tell you this, if you had not insisted in bringing her now—even another twelve hours might have been too late. She is down getting X rays that I think will confirm my suspicions of pneumonia. It won't be much longer before we know.”

The doctor barely finished speaking when he spotted an attendant pushing a wheel chair with Sarah holding an envelope with the X rays on her lap. At that very second, a page calling for Dr. Zachariah was the X ray technician who was relaying his findings to the doctor. It seemed that everything was happening at once. Dr. Zachariah made a motion with his hand that signaled Sarah's being wheeled directly back into the examination room, while he maintained the other arm around Daniel, guiding him to follow along.

Putting the X rays up on the light box, he proclaimed, “Yes, sorry young lady, it will be the hospital for you,” he semiscolded, but tempered his words with a wink, adding, “it's a good thing your husband loves you and saw to it to get you in here—in the knick of time. And now we have no time to waste in getting you checked in and started on treatment—immediately! You don't mess around with pneumonia, and it is most definitely what you have.” Daniel squeezed Sarah's hand affectionately, kissed it, then attempted to lighten up the moment by teasing her, saying, “See, what did I tell you? You should listen to your hubby!”

With tears in his eyes, he did all he could to hide his desperation. In a moment of near panic, he felt his throat clamp as he swallowed the huge lump that seemed to be welling up from the pit of boiling worries in his stomach, as he realized he didn't even know if they had hospital coverage now—and Sarah didn't even know the other bad news of the day. Still, he managed to assure his wife that the children would be fine and not to worry, the most important thing now was for her to get well.

After the hospital admissions process was started on Sarah, the doctor explained more of the unpleasant details to Daniel. Such a huge percentage of Sarah's lungs was filled with fluid that he was concerned that the baby was not getting enough oxygen. This could mean there was a danger to the life of the unborn baby—as well as to Sarah. Confirming the term of Sarah's pregnancy, Dr. Zachariah added, “We'll do the best we can, now try not to worry too much, and get some rest yourself. You look like you could use some rest, too.”

Daniel never remembered a time in his life when he felt such despair. He could barely stammer out the confession to Dr. Zachariah of the other bad news he had received earlier that day. He explained his uncertainty of the insurance coverage as he pleaded that it would not be a factor in getting the best care for his wife and baby.

As compassionate as he could be, Dr. Zachariah pledged that Sarah would be in the finest of care—no matter what the insurance status. “I so hate to bring this up, but no matter how unpleasant, I think it would be advisable that you have a serious talk with your children. As I said before and emphasize again, Sarah is in grave condition and the children need to understand why she isn't coming home now . . . and even be prepared if. . . .”

The doctor found it unnecessary to say the rest of the words, as Daniel's tear-stained face reflected the anguish of the worst-case scenario as a potential reality.

Daniel took the children home after explaining as best he could about their mother. As he tucked them into bed after they were bathed and had eaten an evening snack, he said prayers with them, and then they all prayed a very special prayer for their mama.

“Daddy, I know God will help mama get better. I know it, because he told me so when I was saying a prayer at the hospital,” little Jonathan blurted out with complete confidence, as he hugged his daddy goodnight.

“Don't worry, Daddy, she will get all better and be home for Christmas,” he said again, as Daniel turned off the lights and clicked on the night-light.

Early in the morning, Daniel called the priest at their church. The whole family was very active in St. Mary's Parish, and had been for most of the years they had lived in the Chicago area. He could not keep himself from crying over the phone as he told Father Cassidy about Sarah and also of being laid off permanently from work.

“Please, Father, will you put Sarah on the prayer list and do you have time to go see her in the hospital?” Daniel pleaded.

Father Cassidy prayed with Daniel over the telephone and said he would come to the house right after he visited Sarah in the hospital.

Daniel had already called the hospital to check on Sarah's condition and was attempting to locate a baby-sitter to be with the children while he went to see her. By the time the priest arrived at the house, Daniel had not found anyone, so he was just going to take the children with him and stay as long as he could while they waited in the reception area.

Father Cassidy was very calming and just his presence in the house gave Daniel the courage to face his fears with faith. Telling the priest that he thought he would take the children with him as he was rounding up some books and toys that might occupy them at the hospital, Daniel thanked him profusely for his time and prayers.

Father Cassidy responded by saying there were “things in the works” and soon there might be some more helpful things rounded up as well . . . from the parish. “By tomorrow, I think the good Lord and the good people of St. Mary's will be able to help the Gomez family out just a bit,” the father added with a twinkle in his eye and love in his heart.

For nearly two weeks, Sarah remained in very serious condition. She was on a respirator and powerful antibiotics. From all indications, the baby—if it made it—could be brain damaged from the lack of oxygen. The priest had arranged for several ladies of the church to come help with the Gomez children and with chores such as cooking and cleaning, to free Daniel up to be at Sarah's side. The prayer groups at the church were all praying for Sarah and family, even putting them on an international prayer list with a special request for prayer of the pope.

Father Cassidy conducted a special anointing ceremony at Sarah's hospital bedside. A group of dedicated people through the church decided it was important to do a more intensive prayer vigil, and they maintained a “prayer chain” with a volunteer taking an hour at a time, until all twenty-four hours of each and every day were covered with healing and prayer for Sarah, Daniel, and the children. Although there was little or no change in Sarah's health, or that of the unborn baby, during the two weeks, many other miracles began occurring.

Literally, Daniel had gone through what little savings and money he had to buy groceries and pay the bills for that immediate period . . . leaving no money from that point on for any necessities. They were down to the last bar of soap, the cupboards were growing quite bare, and there was not even laundry soap left to wash clothes with. The volunteers grew in number, and many people brought food already prepared in casserole dishes, cookies, and snacks. As the word spread that the shelves in the Gomez family home were about empty, bags of groceries would appear on the doorstep, with nothing but an anonymous note and the ringing of the doorbell to indicate something was there. Money was received in the mail, some checks, some cash—and some anonymous.

This overflow of love and generosity deeply touched Daniel's spirit. He found the weight of the burdens he was carrying get lighter and lighter, until he felt more strength and courage than he ever thought he could have in a whole lifetime. His trust and belief that whatever God had in store for him and for his family would ultimately be for the best to make them stronger, grew.

Faithfully, Daniel spent every moment possible at his wife's side in the hospital. One day, as he went home to shower, grab a bite to eat, and kiss the children, he was greeted by a huge surprise when he returned to the hospital.

He had been gone for only two hours—two hours that showered healing on his beloved wife! Sarah's fever broke like magic, and there she was, sitting up in bed, slightly complaining about how hungry she was and questioning why she was in the hospital.

The entire two, almost three, weeks seemed not to have even occurred. She didn't even know she had been sick! The doctors, nurses, friends, family, and Father Cassidy were all claiming her sudden healing was absolutely nothing short of a miracle.

Several days later, Sarah was discharged from the hospital, returning to her very ecstatic children and husband. It was still not certain what the outcome would be for the unborn child, but all were hopeful. When first arriving home, Sarah was so amazed that the house was spotless and things were in order that she could hardly contain her excitement. There were more groceries in the pantry and refrigerator than she had ever seen, the children had not even a single toy out of place and had clean clothes in their drawers, there were no piles of dirty clothes in the laundry room, and there were even fresh towels in the bathroom! “How could you possibly do all this while you were working?” she asked in amazement. “I can hardly believe my eyes! Did you get a raise and an early Christmas bonus?